A Boulder district judge denied an emergency request to block the University of Colorado from closing the Boulder campus to visitors in its effort to end the annual 4/20 smokeout.

Judge Andrew Macdonald made the ruling after a nearly four-hour hearing Thursday, the eve of the unsanctioned pro-marijuana holiday.

The lawsuit seeking the injunction was filed Thursday morning by six plaintiffs -- Rob Smoke, Timothy Tipton, Jack Branson, Katherine Cummins, Evan Ravitz and Tom Cummins -- all of whom are not CU students and wanted to participate in the event.

Their attorney Robert Corry, who has been a prominent voice for marijuana legalization and the rights of medical marijuana patients, argued that CU had no grounds to close the campus to non-students.

But the judge said CU is well within its rights to regulate the campus.

"Why doesn't CU have the right to say, 'We don't want to pay $60,000 a year for this?'" he said. "Why don't they have the right to say, 'We're tired of this?'"

Covering #cu420

The Daily Camera, in conjunction with a team of University of Colorado journalism students, will cover 4/20 live throughout the day Friday. To follow and contribute to the coverage, use the #cu420 hashtag on Twitter and other social media outlets. We'll collect your photos, tweets and video alongside our own news stories at dailycamera.com.

The university announced April 13 that the campus will be closed to the public Friday, and students and faculty members will be required to show a BuffOne card to access the campus. The Norlin Quad -- where the pot smokeout typically takes place -- also will be closed to everyone including students, and fish-based fertilizer will cover the lawn.

Macdonald said he did not think the measures are unreasonable because the closures will be only for one day, and the university did put in place a process by which people could apply for permits to be on the campus during 4/20.

Two student groups -- a student chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and Students for Sensible Drug Policy -- applied for permits and will hold events at the Dalton Trumbo fountain near the University Memorial Center.

None of the six plaintiffs applied for a permit.

"We're not looking at an application that was denied," the judge said. "The university has the right to impose these regulations on campus."

Corry said no public university has ever closed its campus to the public, and he likened the measures to "killing a fly with a sledgehammer."

"In this case, the University of Colorado has taken a step no public university in the history of the United States has taken," he said. "If we can't have a free marketplace of ideas on a public university campus, then where can it occur in the U.S.?"

CU acknowledged the closure was unprecedented but said the annual 4/20 gathering is an "unusual" event.

"More than 10,000 people descend on the campus in an unorganized, unregulated manner," said Patrick O'Rourke, a CU attorney.

CU's attorneys maintained the smokeout -- which brings as many as 10,000 people onto the campus April 20 for a pro-marijuana celebration -- has caused "substantial" disruption to classes in recent years.

"I have an obligation to the 30,000 students, our faculty and our staff that faculty can teach class, students can go to class to learn, that students can get advising, and that they can do all this in a safe environment," said CU Chancellor Phil DiStefano. "This event is very disruptive to our students, to our faculty and to our staff."

Elizabeth Guertin, who works as a student adviser in the Woodbury Arts and Sciences building -- which neighbors Norlin Quad -- said groups of people would wander into the building looking for bathrooms and disrupting the office on 4/20.

She said April is often a busy time for students who are looking to schedule meetings with their adviser, and the 4/20 gathering often forces the offices to close. She added that she never walks outside on the lawn during the event because of the crowds.

"I would never do that," she said. "Honestly, I would be afraid."

The university typically spends $60,000 a year in security and cleaning costs for 4/20. DiStefano said with extra enforcement this year, the cost will likely double, but it will ultimately save the university money in the long run if it is successful in preventing the smokeout.

Several of the plaintiffs testified that the gathering is a peaceful one, and despite the growing size of the event, no riots or significant injuries have occurred in past 4/20 smokeouts.

Fellow plaintiff Smoke -- who has run for the Boulder City Council in the past -- said the 4/20 event has helped foster discussion.

"It's a spark plug for people protesting the prohibition of marijuana," he said. "This particular gathering in Boulder has special significance due to its size. People who attend are more motivated to go out in the community and educate people about these issues, so I think it's an important event."

Corry said the injunction ultimately failed because the quick turnaround didn't allow him enough time to prepare properly for the case. He also said not having a student among his plaintiffs hurt the case.

Numerous times during the hearing, Corry brought up what a hassle it would be for students to show their BuffOne card to access the campus, but the judge said because his plaintiffs were not students, that point was irrelevant.

Despite the ruling, one of the plaintiffs, Tipton, said he still plans to try to go to the rally Friday.

"Civil disobedience may be the reality," he said.

Corry said the university has created a bigger problem by closing the campus.

"I hope that this is not a violent situation," he said. "But the university is putting itself and the community in a dangerous position."

CU Police Chief Joe Roy said he has instructed his officers to use minimal force and avoid confrontation.

"I'm satisfied by the rules of engagement that Chief Roy has established," DiStefano said.

DiStefano said police are prepared to issue citations to students who choose to smoke pot on the campus, and officials hope to significantly reduce the size of the annual gathering.

"I believe it will work, but we will see tomorrow," he said.

If the closure does succeed in snuffing the smokeout, Corry said it would be a tremendous loss.

"It baffles me how marijuana suddenly became so offensive at CU-Boulder, of all places," he said. "(This gathering) was a beautiful thing ... and CU has probably crushed it."

Boulder District Judge Andrew MacDonald listens to attorney Robert Corry examine a witness during the hearing for the 4/20 closure of the University of Colorado campus at the Boulder County Justice Center on Thursday, April 19, 2012.
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JEREMY PAPASSO
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